Stressless around the world

In Trondheim, Norway, during the winter solstice, the day is only 4 hours 30 minutes long. Can spring be far away?

Try a little kindness sale at Traditions Home

Until January 15 only, turn a small donation into Stressless savings of up to $400. Give $50 to the charity of your choice and receive $200 off any Stressless recliner, office chair, sofa, or theater group, or $400 off a Stressless Mayfair recliner and ottoman, office chair or Mayfair with LegComfort in select colors.

In Norway, people celebrate the coming of summer with a celebration called Slinningsbålet. The celebration marks the time when the days grow short and the sun begins to retreat in the sky and in Norway they celebrate with the world’s largest bonfire. Norway’s largest celebration takes place on June the 24th in Ålesund in the county of Møre og Romsdal, on the western coastline of Norway. In 2010, the townsfolk built a massive tower of shipping crates, a record-setting 132.71 feet tall.

Did I mention that Stressless recliners and office chairs are designed and made in Ikornnes, a village along the Sykkylvsfjorden, in Møre og Romsdal county. Though you missed this year’s Slinningsbålet, you can still relax in your favorite Stressless recliner and enjoy the summer weather.

Here I sit on a rock and broken-hearted, tried to rise but only started. Soon I heard a voice softly calling, saw a crab in the sand quickly crawling. Then I fell asleep and dreamed of a perfect place far away and quiet.

Work hard, play harder and rest when you can, is advice that would have made Ben Franklin healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Maybe Ovid, the Roman poet, said it best, “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” Einstein thought best while walking or playing the violin and Sherlock Holmes likewise liked to think and play his violin. Rip Van Winkle slept a bit too much. Sir Isaac Newton dozed and when an apple struck him on the head, he composed the three laws of physics. Hamlet, when perplexed sought to sleep, and perchance to dream. Leonardo da Vinci observed, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer.”

Today, kids are sentenced to 9 months of reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic; and, let’s hope, a topic that will prepare the little tykes to take over when parents are ready for the easy chair. It is time to think about how we are going to pay for those college years.

Let us go to Mérida, capital of Spain’s Extremadura, founded by the Romans, whose ancient buildings include the Teatro Romano, the Puente Romano, and the stunningly beautiful Temple of Diana.

The Roman colony of Emerita Augusta (today’s Mérida) was founded in 25 BC by Emperor Augustus. It was settled by soldiers discharged from two veteran legions of the Cantabrian Wars: Legio X Gemina and Legio V Alaudae, (Tenth and Fifth Legions). These wars, which Augustus personally supervised, were the final stage of Rome’s two-century long conquest of Hispania; and the ten-year long campaign against the fiercely independent tribes: the Cantabri, Astures, and Gallaeci.

The Temple of Diana was built as part of the city forum in the first century AD. It stands on an elevated rectangular base. The facade has six granite columns with Corinthian capitals. Archaeologists believe a garden and pond lay beside the temple.

The attribution of the religious temple to Diana is uncertain.

Soldiers of the Tenth Legion famously followed Julius Caesar in his invasion of Gaul and Britain, and in Greece to subdue Pompey the Great at the Battle of Pharsalus. Later, Augustus, then Octavius, used them at the Battle of Philippi against Julius Caesar’s murderers. The Fifth Legion was also formed by Julius Caesar and fought with him in Gaul. It was the first Roman legion composed of provincial soldiers, as opposed to Roman citizens. and Caesar paid the soldiers with his own resources before the legion was recognized by the Roman Senate.

Fourteen hundred years later the progeny of these soldiers would find their fortunes in the New World as Spanish conquistadors. Their names are known to history: Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Gonzalo Pizarro, Juan Pizarro, Hernando Pizarro, and Hernando de Soto to name a few.

Did we mention that Stressless recliners are shipped all over the world from Ikornnes, Norway? Made in Norway – a fitting statement for this sleek and comfortable chair.

If you would like to pick up the chair yourself in Ikornnes, Sykkylven Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, here are the directions:

From Oslo by car it is eight and a half hours to Geiranger in Møre og Romsdal county on the Storfjorden. Along the way, stop, if you are inclined, in Lillehammer, home to the 1994 Winter Olympics.

By boat take your time and enjoy the spectacular views of the fjords, named best travel destination in Scandinavia by Lonely Planet. Eventually, follow the Sykkylvsfjorden, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of Tusvik, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of Straumgjerde, and about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of the municipal center of Aure via the Sykkylven Bridge.

In winter come early as the sun sets about 4 o’clock.

Y0u can enjoy your Stressless recliner in all the colors of the aurora borealis.